While there was some valuable gems already missing from Nintendo’s E3 2021 slate — no Hollow Knight: Silksong and probably no Switch Pro — the company still had more Zelda, Breath of the Wild 2 news, a new Metroid, and the return of Wario Ware.
Heading into E3 2021, Nintendo’s lineup was arguably the strongest out of the three publishers. The Nintendo Switch had suffered the least supply issues throughout the year, and its rampant success before and during COVID meant Nintendo had a steady supply of third-party indies to buffer out the space between its in-house titles.
But E3 2021 was the year where some of those first-party games were expected to come to fruition. With Pokemon Arceus, Pokemon Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl months away, titles like NEO: The World Ends With You, more Splatoon 2, and never-ending rumours about an upcoming Donkey Kong title, Nintendo came prepared.
Smash Ultimate began proceedings with the introduction of Kazuya Mishima from Tekken, leading to an entertaining moment where Kazuya tried to drop Kirby off a cliff. Sorry buddy, we’ve all been there, it doesn’t work.
A future presentation will be held on June 29 for a deeper dive into Kazuya.
Next up was the Life is Strange universe, with both the Remastered Collection and Life is Strange: True Colors getting Switch releases. The latter will hit the Switch on September 10; Remastered Collection doesn’t have a release date beyond 2021 yet.
Speaking of Square titles, it was confirmed that the Switch would also get a port of Guardians of the Galaxy. It’ll be available on October 26.
Worms Rumble followed, although you’ll need a Nintendo Switch Online membership to take advantage of the Worms shooter. It’ll launch on the platform on June 23 (June 24 Australian time). Astria Ascending then got a September 30 release date, while Two Point Campus won’t be out until next year.
Super Monkey Ball: Banana Mania was then announced with an October 5 release date. Amazingly, Mario Party Superstars then got unveiled, offering 5 boards from classic Mario Party games. All game modes will support online play, even if you’re playing in solo, and progress can be saved mid-game (if playing with friends).
Mario Party Superstars will go live on October 29.
A new Metroid game – Metroid: Dread – was announced. It’s a 2D platformer with a lot of classic Metroid elements, and it’ll launch on October 8 with new amiibo.
Just Dance 2022, arcade racer Crus’n Blast and Dragon Ball Z: Kakarot then all got Switch ports, and Mario Golf followed with a quick breakdown of the game’s modes.
Standard Golf, Speed Golf, Battle Golf (which takes place on a special arena) and Golf Adventure will be the four modes in-game. New courses and playable characters will be added to Mario Golf for free post-launch, too. Mario Golf: Super Rush goes live on June 25.
Monster Hunter Stories 2: Wings of Ruin then got its expected slot in the Nintendo showcase. This was part of Capcom’s showcase a day before, and it’s out on July 9.
Finally, a new Warioware was announced. It’ll support two-player co-op, featuring mini games that include squeezing a statue’s nipples (?). Wario Ware: Get it Together launches on September 10.
Next up was Shin Megami Tensei V. Not the Persona 5 port everyone has been asking for, but it’s within the same universe. Also, SMTV looks pretty good on the Switch, all things considered. It’ll also be a Switch exclusive, launching on November 12.
The Danganronpa franchise then hijacked proceedings with Danganronpa Decadence, a package with four games from the franchise. It’ll have Dangonronpa S: Summer Camp — basically an expanded version of the board game from Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony. The pack will launch later this year.
Fatal Frame: Maiden of Black Water will launch on the Switch in 2021, too.
The DLC/games launching today part of the Direct then rolled. DOOM Eternal’s campaign expansion is hitting the Switch today Australian time, while Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1 + 2 is available from June 25 on Switch.
Remember the Strange Brigade co-op shooter? Well, it’s back on the Switch with local wireless co-op and online play. It’s available from today as well.
A recap of the Mario + Rabbids sequel followed, further highlighting that players won’t be limited by a movement grid anymore; you’ll be able to run anywhere within the movement radius that appears on screen.
For those into remasters, Advance Wars is back. And it looks pretty neat, too.
It’s called Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp, and it’ll go live on December 3. Last up was more DLC Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity, with the first lot going live from June 18.
Finally, Nintendo closed their E3 showing with the Zelda section of the Direct. After some discussion on the Game & Watch Zelda system and a brief mention of Skyward Sword HD, which launches on July 16, more Breath of the Wild 2 footage was unveiled.
Breath of the Wild 2 is targeting a 2022 release date.
Nintendo closed out their E3 2021 show by mentioning they were working on other titles. The show then immediately switched into the Nintendo Treehouse team, where talk immediately refocused on Metroid Dread, Mario Golf: Super Rush, Advance Wars 1+2 Re-Boot Camp, Shin Megami Tensei V, Wario Ware: Get it Together and more. Naturally, Metroid Dread was first cab off the rank for a deep dive, with Wario Ware: Get It Together the second deep dive after that.
No more information was provided on Metroid Prime 4, beyond a confirmation that it was still in development. Splatoon 3 and Bayonetta 3 were also missing from the show.
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